ROUSES_Holiday2018Magazine-FINAL.indd

ROCKIN’ AROUND the Christmas Brie

This is it: the board you typi- cally drop on your coffee table for preprandial snacking, but bigger and better. Instead of 3 cheeses, go for 7. Offer pairings for nearly each cheese, plus communal accoutre- ments that can be shared across everything. I start by making an effort to get at least 3 differ- ent milk types (cow, goat and sheep) in the mix of 7. I arrange the cheeses from mildest to stron- gest, starting at 1 o’clock on the board and going clockwise. In between each is a condiment that complements both the cheese before and after it, helping my guests experiment with which pair- ing combos they like best. What’s important here is using a big enough board so there’s space around each cheese for people to get in and cut a piece. Ideally, the center of the board would remain empty so you can fill it with a selection of sliced baguette, flatbreads and crackers. Using the Holiday Cheese Cheat Sheet, my picks are: 12 o’clock: Savannah Bee Company Whipped Honey in a small bowl with honey drizzler or spreader knife. 1 o’clock: La Bonne Vie Goat Log with Truffles: Fresh, lemony-tart goat cheese with aromatic black truffles. Cut into small coin-shaped rounds that can be easily topped with honey. 2 o’clock: A pile of dried cherries, sweet to offset the salt and tart to cut the fat. 3 o’clock: Saint Angel: It looks like Brie but this cream-enriched cow milk cheese is technically a triple crème, with a remarkably soft, mild and edible rind. 4 o’clock: Time to pull in some bright acidity to refresh the palate. Pickled vegetables or tiny, bite-size cornichon pickles do the trick.

60 www. rouses .com